


Distress Signal

by Shorm (Bdoing), Vinnocent



Series: Humanity Is Watching [2]
Category: Animorphs - Katherine A. Applegate, Firefly
Genre: Blood and Gore, F/M, Gun Violence, Implied/Referenced Suicide
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-01
Updated: 2014-10-03
Packaged: 2018-02-19 10:32:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,622
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2385167
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bdoing/pseuds/Shorm, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Vinnocent/pseuds/Vinnocent
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Still trying to figure out what to do with Alan and Tom, the crew of the Jian Seng goes to investigate a distress signal picked up by one of Alan's devices.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So, when I wrote this, certain scenes were meant to feature Japanese dialogue with English translations. But, as it turns out, Shorm is rustier on Japanese than they thought and does not have the time to brush up right now. It is for this reason that scenes taking place between characters whose first language is in Japanese or who are supposedly fluent in Japanese is still taking place in English. In the future, I'll be sure to stick to phrases instead of whole swaths of text, to be kinder on my translator and co-writer. :P

Then…  
“Not that I don’t appreciate spending time with you, love, but I’m wondering if perhaps you had an intention beyond sitting across from me at this table for the entirety of today?” Loren Matsumoto asked with an amused but curious expression.

Tobias continued to fidget in his seat across from her at the kitchen table. It was an old, beat up thing, its short leg propped up with a scrap of wood, and another leg that had been replaced by an entirely mismatched one that somehow _was_ the right length. It had been in the house longer than he had, but he reckoned that she’d salvaged it from somewhere, as she did most things. “I, uh… I got a job offer today,” he mumbled.

His mother raised an eyebrow at that. “A job?” she said. “You got a better flying offer?”

Tobias leaned back in his chair, which wasn’t a particularly great idea as it wasn’t in much better shape than the table. “Uh, that… that sort of depends on your definition of ‘better,’” he mumbled.

Loren sat her elbow on the table and her chin on her hand. “Is this whole conversation going to be spoken in riddles?” she teased.

“The work’s a bit… Well, I mean, they didn’t say, but… Okay, you know those ranchers I ship supplies for occasionally?” he said, and she nodded. “Well, their daughter and a former foster kid work for a salvager, who has recently decided that he needs a pilot that’s not him.”

“Isn’t most of your work trick flying?” said Loren.

“Yeah, I pointed that out,” he agreed. “I mean, I told him I’d be glad for steadier work, and of course I navigate just fine, but I was wondering why he came right to me.”

“And he said?” she prompted.

Tobias crossed his arms and allowed his chair to snap back into an upright position. “Something convoluted,” he admitted with a shrug, despite the fact that she couldn’t see him shrugging. “But I got the distinct impression that what he was getting at is that their work isn’t always legal.”

Loren frowned. “I didn’t think you had a problem with that,” she said.

“Not out here. But they work a lot on the border and core,” said Tobias. “They have a Companion with them. Like an actual registered Companion. That’s their pass to the core.”

“They licensed?” she asked, and Tobias told her they were. “How long have they been at it?”

“A few years,” he said.

“They been arrested in that time?” she asked.

He shrugged again, pointlessly. “They say no,” he told her.

“Then I suppose, even with a bit of illegal work, they know how to handle the core,” she said. “That will get even easier with a pilot like you. So what are you worried about?”

Tobias chewed his lip. “I just… wanted to sound it out with you first,” he said. “I mean, there’s the danger, and there’s being away from here much longer than ever before…”

“Maybe for you,” she said. “But I’ve been away months at a time before. I can handle it here. If the pay is good enough for you, then I think you should take it.”

Tobias sighed. “It _can_ be good, but the captain admits its not always steady,” he said. “And… I don’t know. I just wanted to make sure I wasn’t… y’know… overeager?”

That had her interest. Slowly, she lowered her hand again. “Why would you be overeager?” she asked.

Though she could not see Tobias blushing, she could hear it in his voice, and it made her smile. “I, uh…” he floundered. “I… There’s… maybe… a girl? Sort of?”

“I didn’t think you had crushes,” she said, and he shrugged again. After a pause, she reminded him, “Tobias, if you’re shrugging, I can’t see it.”

“Sorry,” he mumbled. “I don’t know. It doesn’t happen much. Or for long. Maybe it’s not a crush and it’s just like… She’s really cool? The point is I sort of feel like I’m running off over something silly.”

Loren shrugged and leaned back in her chair. “So be silly,” she said. “You’ve always been so serious, Tobias. Follow a whim for once. I mean, it sounds like a good job anyway.”

Tobias grimaced uncertainly. “You sure you’re fine with me leaving?” he pressed.

“Are you kidding?” she laughed. “I can finally have guys over!”

Tobias’s grimace deepened into disgust. “Oh god, Mom…”

“Maybe even get laid!”

“MOM!”

－ －

Now…  
Tobias woke up standing, staring at his hands. Confused, he looked around. He wasn’t in his and Rachel’s cabin, but one of the passenger cabins.

He looked around, trying to figure out why he’d sleep walk into a passenger cabin of all places and was embarrassed, at first, to see that there was luggage present, meaning it was an occupied one. Then, he realized that he recognized the strewn belongings. They were Fangor’s. Jake had asked him, Marco, and Rachel to comb through them for any contact information or clues that might help figure out what to do with the still comatose man, his vital signs slowly diminishing. For the moment, they were headed on to Aberdeen, home to Tobias, Cassie, and, in a way, even Rachel, as had been originally intended.

Tobias realized he was holding something. A small device, made of a material like milky white glass, roughly the shape of one of Rachel’s mirror compacts, and beeping. He’d seen it before when they’d gone through Fangor’s things but had dismissed it on account of it not being beeping at the time.

He flipped it open. On one circular surface, text immediately darted across the surface in an alphabet he’d never seen before. On the opposite side appeared to be a tiny starmap. The markings on it were unfamiliar, definitely not Alliance Standard, but Tobias recognized the layout. Whatever it was that the device was summoning him toward, it was close.

He made his way to the bridge, sat at the pilot's control deck, and set the compact carefully down next to navigation panel. Squinting at the small image, Tobias began working out a chart of where it might be trying to send him. It was almost the opposite direction from where they were going. They were headed from Lux to Kalidasa. Georgia was currently half way to the other side of the Core. Not only that, but the area the device seemed to be fussing over wasn’t even a planet. It was empty space just outside of Athens’s orbit.

Tobias reached over to the intercom panel and used the private connection to the captain’s cabin. “Captain, would you please come up here?” he asked as politely as possible, knowing that, one way or another, an argument was about to ensue.

He got no reply.

Tobias tried again, a little more sharply. “ _Captain_?”

A moment later, the bridge intercom clicked on. “Captain’s a little busy,” Cassie’s voice replied, rasping slightly.

Tobias rolled his eyes and groaned. He pressed the button again impatiently, “Well, how long does _that_ take?”

A longer moment, then Cassie’s giggling voice replied, “Is it－ Ssh! Is it an emergency?”

“No,” Tobias admitted, “but sooner is preferable to later.”

“Okay, give us ten minutes,” she said.

“Fifteen minutes,” Jake corrected. His voice had a rough, growling tone to it that Tobias had never heard before and hoped to never hear again.

“Right, give us twenty minutes,” Cassie relayed. With another giggle, the intercom clicked off again.

Tobias groaned and rubbed his face. “Might as well go back to sleep then,” he complained to himself. He didn’t, though, afraid of where his unsettled mind might cause him to wander next.

－ －

Then…  
“I can’t have it, Loren!” his aunt － half-aunt? － was shouting. “I can’t handle this and work, too!”

“You work at home!” his mother insisted back. “I’ve gotta go out in the field every day for the next month. It ain’t right to leave the boy alone at the house. You know what’s it’s like out here.”

As loud as they were being, Tobias might have been able to hear with a glass pressed to the floor in his borrowed room. But that wasn’t where he was. He’d been banished to the hallway until they figured out what to do with him. So he listened to the fight in the kitchen from the top of the stairs.

“Like your work is necessary,” his aunt snipped.

“The hell is that supposed to mean?” Loren demanded.

“Oh everyone in this town knows who’s doin’ the plowin’ when _you_ go into the fields.”

Loren choked on a noise of indignant rage while, out of their sight, Tobias’s fingernails bit into his palms. It was far from the first time he’d heard people accusing her of prostitution over “real” work, but it was rare that he heard it said to her face. Aunt Lynn must have been _really_ angry.

“I ain’t even arguing that with you,” Loren finally snarled. “You think up whatever you like. Heaven knows facts ain’t ever deterred you before. So tell me, Lynn, what you think I oughta do? You’re goin’ back on taking him. Ichiro’s a quarter ’cross the planet. So what am I to do?”

“Don’t put this on me, Loren. When you asked, you didn’t say he was suicidal!” Lynn shouted, and Tobias folded up into his arms, biting his lip and trying not to cry.

“He is _not_ suicidal!”

“He jumped off the gorram roof!”

“He has an imagination! It’s normal for a little boy!”

“He ain’t so little these days, Loren,” Lynn snarled. “He’s growin’ wild, and what else is he to do with a wild mother? You want him to settle, then settle yourself!”

“And where am I to get the money to do that?!” Loren demanded.

“And where am I to get the money to support _me_ so I can spend all my day making sure he don’t jump offa somethin’ higher?!”

Tobias failed his efforts at not crying.

－ －

Now…  
Eventually, Jake made his way to the bridge. The first thing he said was “The hell is that?”

Tobias looked up from the compact clutched in his hand and turned to his captain. “Remember how you had us looking through Fangor’s things for clues?” he asked. He started to hold it out to Jake but suddenly realized that he didn’t want to hand it over, clutching it so tightly that his fingers paled.

Jake raised an eyebrow. “Yeah?” he said.

“Well, I, uh…” Tobias fidgeted and started to run a hand through his streaky blonde hair only to be reminded that Rachel had braided it. “I looked again,” he said, trying to pretend that he’d found himself in Fangor’s room on purpose. “I found this.”

“Which returns us to my original inquiry,” Jake reminded him.

“I’m not quite sure,” Tobias admitted. “But, uh, well, it’s beeping. Pretty frantically, actually. And it seems to be directing us to this space just outside Athens.”

“Georgia system? That’s nearly the opposite of our direction,” Jake said. Then, “What do you mean ‘seems’?”

Tobias held the compact out so that Jake could see. “I can read the chart, though it’s not in Standard, but I have no idea what any of the text says.”

Jake nodded. “Hold on.” He stepped forward and reached over Tobias to the intercoms. Tobias made a face and turned away. “What?” Jake demanded.

“You smell like sweat,” Tobias said, waving a hand.

Jake rolled his eyes. “I’m sorry. I’ll be sure and take the time to bathe next time you tell me to head to the bridge as soon as possible.”

“Please do,” Tobias groaned.

Jake flicked the switch Shuttle One’s intercom system. “Guerra to Bridge,” he called.

“Do you have any idea what time it is?” Marco said, enunciating each word carefully so as not to show how pissed he was at being woken.

“No clocks in the black,” Jake teased, knowing good and well that time was standardized, not solar. “Come on, you’re always saying how much you need to practice your written translation skills on something that ain’t Chinese.”

“You need me to translate something at… Four in the morning?”

“Yes, please.”

“What language?”

“Not a clue.”

There was a pause, then, “Be right there.” And he was. Only a few minutes later, Marco was hurrying onto the bridge.

“See?” Tobias said, gesturing to Marco for Jake’s sake. “That’s what ‘sooner’ looks like.”

Marco looked at the two of them, confused. “What am I translating?” he asked. After a moment’s hesitation, Tobias handed him the compact. Marco squinted at it in surprise. He rubbed his eyes, then squinted at it again.

“Do you know the language?” Jake asked, rocking lightly on the balls of his feet, his arms crossed tightly and impatiently over his chest.

Marco shook his head. “No,” he said. “I’ve never even seen the family. It might be from one of the smaller cultures? But it’s probably a distress signal.”

“What makes you say that?” asked Tobias.

“It’s short and repetitive and continuous,” said Marco, tapping the screen. “If it was a rendezvous, it wouldn’t be continuous, for fear of being caught. If it was a warning, it would be longer. If it was communication, it would be even longer and unlikely to repeat more than once. Also, it seems… insistent?”

Jake glared at the device and chewed his lip indecisively while Tobias pouted up at him. “We got enough fuel to get as far as Athens? The actual planet, I mean, not this blank space out by it. Enough to burn our way there quickly?”

Tobias nodded. “Yeah, plenty. Fresh stock.”

Jake nodded, took the compact from Marco, and handed it back to Tobias. “Alright,” he said. “Plot a course for Whitefall, not Athens, and burn hot. There’s a cheap fuel station there and business enough if you avoid the eye of the Lady, so we got reason to be there. Just slow it down if we run near Alliance, so we look less suspicious. Keep all the sensors on watch for them. Take as direct a path as possible.”

Tobias nodded and turned to make the necessary navigational changes.

Marco was frowning at Jake uncertainly. Jake raised an eyebrow. “What?” he asked Marco.

Marco shook his head. “Jake… if you don’t mind me asking… exactly what are we hoping to find at these coordinates?”

Jake shrugged, at a loss. “I have no idea,” he admitted. He glanced back at the device clutched in Tobias’s hand. “But I have to hope that any something is better than the nothing we’re currently working with.”

“That’s fucked us over more often than not,” Marco pointed out.

Jake just shrugged again and headed for the door. “Yeah, but that’s half the fun.”


	2. Chapter 2

Then…  
Estrid told him that his plan was sedition.

Aximili told her that he knew.

She told him that if he left, he could never come back.

He told her that he knew.

She told him that even on the slim chance that he found his brother, all he would find was bones.

He told her that he knew.

She told him this was the stupidest plan she’d ever heard.

He told her that he knew.

She told him that she hated him.

He told her that he knew.

So she kissed him.

And he kissed back.

And that was the last they saw of each other.

－ －

Now…  
Jake dropped his gun in the bin beside the infirmary. Since Tom was clearly triggered by the sight of guns, no one was allowed to cross in front of the infirmary with a weapon. They either had to deposit their armaments in one of the metal bins at either side or go the long way around. After double checking that he wasn't forgetting anything else that could be used to kill him, Jake headed to the door where he could see Erek checking Fangor’s vitals while Tom slept still strapped to the second exam table. In an infirmary of that size, there was usually only one, but, in the six year span of the Jian Seng’s operations, they’d had a few too many incidents with Jake and Rachel both getting shot.

“How are they?” Jake asked quietly.

Erek turned to him, then glanced over his shoulder to Tom, presuming that was the issue foremost on Jake’s mind. “Medically, Tom is fine. But the fact that we can’t let him loose and can’t talk to him means he stays confused and in restraints, which means he often escalates into panic, which means he has to be kept sedated more often than not.” He shot Jake a meaningful glance. “You’re running low on sedatives by the way.”

Jake sighed and rubbed his temple. “Yeah, okay. We were gonna get one of the passenger cabins refitted so he can be kept there without being a danger to himself or others, but now we’re heading out to Whitefall…” He gestured to Fangor. “Which is why I wanna know about _him_.”

“Internal organs have been damaged. Not badly enough to kill him quickly, but they’re taking a lot of stress, trying to keep doing their jobs while healing up,” said Erek. “He needs to be in a hospital, on machines.”

“Hospitals are run by Alliance, and he seems to be on the wrong side of them,” Jake pointed out.

Erek shook his head miserably and said, quietly, “Captain Berenson, I don’t know how much longer he can last.”

“We’re still trying to reach Chapman,” Jake assured him a bit pathetically. Erek just nodded.

“Captain to Bridge,” Tobias’s voice suddenly burst over the intercom. He’d gotten so used to calling Jake to the bridge over the past week that he was was actually starting to remember to how to be formal about it.

Jake groaned and rubbed his face. “This is the worst three days ever.”

“Well, journey’s almost over, isn’t it?” asked Erek.

Jake snapped his fingers. “Which is probably why he’s summoning me!” he realized, already running out the door again. After running down the hall, he quickly doubled back to get his gun out the bin. Soon, he was scrambling onto the bridge.

Rachel laughed at him from the co-pilot seat, her feet up on the control panel. “Nice professionalism, Cap.”

“Haha,” he sneered at her. “Tobias?”

Tobias pointed out the window. “Over there. We’re still pointed at Whitefall, but do you think that’s it?”

Jake peered at the window. He then walked down to the observation platform to look directly out. “What the hell class is that?” he asked.

Tobias shook his head. “I’ve never seen it before. Private company maybe?”

“What’s someone like Fangor doing with rich people?” Rachel said, leaning forward and taking her feet off the controls as she suddenly became a lot more interested.

“I dunno,” said Tobias. “But they’ve got a Wren docked with them.”

Jake turned back to Tobias, surprised. “What’s a Wren doin’ answerin’ a distress call?” he demanded. Tobias just shrugged helplessly. Jake hurried back up the steps to Tobias’s station. “How many lifesigns? How’re they reading?”

Tobias squinted at the displays. “Uh, we’re still a bit far out, and moving past now. But I’d say five or six? The, uh, Unidentified Starship is relatively fine? They’ve got a hull breach, but that section’s not leaking air, despite the fact that I read the life support as _probably_ on. So I think that section’s been sealed. Um, while life support seems to be on, given the… the, uh, temp and pressure and gravity distortion, the engines are not functioning. They’re not off; they’re totally dead.” Tobias flipped a few switches and dials. “The Wren’s functioning but barely. There’s… _something_ wrong with their engine core? I’m not sure how to read this.”

Jake nodded. “Okay, don’t swing back around just yet, but slow down,” he ordered. “It’s suspicious enough, that I want to send King, our patients, and Cassie out to the moon with Shuttle Two. Maybe Marco in Shuttle One, depends on him.”

Rachel snorted. “You know he goes where you do,” she told him.

Jake rolled his eyes and headed for the door. “It’s polite to ask,” he reminded her.

－ －

Then…  
In the air, the starships tumbled and turned, dived and spun, all to the oos and ahs of the crowd. It was a rare show for an outer world like Aberdeen, and Loren had made sure to set money aside for tickets the moment she’d heard about it. She knew how much Tobias loved to see starships at their best.

They weren’t close. It was hard to be close when she was always leaving him with family so she could work whatever job she might find for the day, the week, the month… But they loved each other, and she’d do anything to see him smile.

Tobias clung to her waist as he watched the sky silently, mouth agape and eyes wide with wonder. Of course, Loren couldn’t see a damned thing, but she could feel his awe in the way he clutched at her and hear it in his held breaths, and it made her heart swell. Worth it.

When the show was over, the sound of aircraft and spacecraft diminishing, and Loren turned to guide him away, she heard her son whisper, “I wish I could be up there…”

She paused and turned to face him. “Of course you can, Tobias,” she told him.

She felt him jerk slightly in surprise. “What?” he asked.

Loren shrugged. “You do decent in school,” she said. “Look after your math and sciences, I’m sure you can get into Junior Flight School when you’re old enough, and you can ride that into Aerospace Navigation. Or just Space Navigation, if that floats your boat. Train under trick fliers, or maybe the military if they’re not－”

Tobias jerked her hand, knowing better than to take it out of hers totally. “I don’t wanna be a pilot!” he snapped back at her, sounding hurt for the insinuation.

Loren was confused. She pressed her free hand to the side of his face, trying to read him better, and frowned. “I don’t understand,” she said. “I thought you said you wanted to－”

“Don’t wanna be the pilot…” Tobias murmured quietly. “Wanna be the ship.”

Her hand flew to her mouth in an attempt to keep from laughing at him. Her other hand tightened on his to make sure he didn’t leave her in a fuss. Once she had regained some semblance of composure, she crouched down in front of him. “Well,” she said, “that’s much easier.”

“It is?” said Tobias.

“Sure,” she said. “Just close your eyes.”

“They’re closed,” Tobias told her quickly.

With a grin, Loren blew in his face.

He immediately screeched and squirmed in her grip. “Kaachan! Suruna!”

“What?” she asked innocently.

“DON’T BLOW ON ME!”

“I didn’t!” she lied playfully. “That was the wind over your bow as you soared up into the－!”

“YOU BLOWED ON ME!”

Loren sighed. “Yeah, okay,” she admitted. She stood again, tugging on his hand. “Come on, let’s go home.”

Tobias sulked the whole way home, and she wasn’t sure how badly she had screwed up. Wasn’t sure, that is, until he asked for a starship model for his birthday. One of the ones he had seen at the show.

Maybe he couldn’t be the ship, but pilot wasn’t such a bad deal after all.

－ －

Now…  
Cassie glanced nervously back into the rear of the shuttle. “You’re sure he’ll stay sedated?” she asked, remembering the gunfight from less than a week ago.

“Unless this will take them more than seven hours,” Erek assured her from the seat behind her pilot’s chair. “And even then, he’s restrained to the stretcher. I’m more concerned about Fangor. You don’t really have the equipment he needs, but something is better than nothing.”

“Well, I’m sure it won’t take… that…” Cassie scowled up through the window. “Hold on.”

Erek leaned forward to follow her gaze. “What is it?” he asked.

She pointed up toward the ship that _Jian Seng_ had just docked with. “Do you see that?” she asked. “The engine on the Wren-class transport ship.”

Erek peered carefully. “There’s…. there’s a faint glow,” he admitted, swallowing nervously.

“Yeah, but the engine’s off,” Cassie said, busily fidgeting with the controls. “I mean… Yeah, it’s definitely off. So what’s giving off the glow? It’s not a big ship at all; it can’t still be cooling.”

“Cassie…” Erek said quietly.

“Yeah?” she said distractedly.

“I am _really_ sorry about this.”

She turned to him confused. “What－?” But she wasn’t given time to finish her question. Erek lunged forward, and Cassie seized under the sudden electric shock. As soon as she was unconscious, Erek pulled her out of the pilot seat and buckled her securely into another. He quickly checked the controls to make sure the shuttle was still on course for Whitefall. He then hailed _Jian Seng_. “Shuttle Two to _Jian Seng_ ,” he said as calmly as possible.

No answer.

“ _Jian Seng_ , this is Shuttle Two,” Erek repeated. “It is vital that you respond as soon as possible.”

No answer.

Growling under his breath, Erek flipped a couple switches, then pressed the record button. “ _Jian Seng_ , this is Shuttle Two. I’m putting this beacon on rapid relay to increase the chance of you hearing it at some point. Hopefully, soon.” He glanced at Cassie. “Uh, the reason why I’m doing this instead of Cassie is because I felt it necessary to, um, tase her. I feared she would try to help you, which she cannot. I believe that the Wren attached to the distressed ship is operating without core containment, which would mean that it is a Reaver ship. For such a small ship, there is probably only a small party of Reavers aboard. You may have a chance of survival if you immediately disembark. I will wait on the moon for your response.

“Good luck.”

Unfortunately, the remaining crew of _Jian Seng_ were not on the bridge, where they might hear Erek’s beacon, but down in the cargo. “Tobias, you got a reason for bein’ here?” Jake snapped as Tobias descended the steps to join Jake, Rachel, and Marco. Rachel grimaced at him but said nothing.

“Yes, I do,” said Tobias. “I’m helping.”

“Yes, it is mighty helpful of you to stay on the bridge where you’re needed, and I’ll be sure to give you thanks once we’re back onboard,” Jake snarled, unamused.

“We’re docked,” Tobias pointed out. “You don’t need a pilot while you’re docked.”

“We have before,” Jake pointed out.

“ _Meanwhile_ ,” Tobias continued as though Jake had said nothing. “There’s six life signs in there, and we’ve got no idea how many of them will be happy to see us. The more hands you’ve got, the better.”

Angrily, Jake turned to Rachel. “You know anything about this?” he demanded.

Rachel made a vague noise, shrugged her shoulders, and turned to check over her weapons again. Marco snickered as he watched them. He waved a pistol at Tobias. “Have you ever handled one of these?” he asked.

Tobias rolled his eyes, took the gun from Marco, and switched off the safety. “I think I know which end to hold,” he retorted.

Marco gave Jake a pointed look, and Jake shook his head. “Tonight,” he promised Tobias, “you and I are having a chat about your behavior lately.”

“I look forward to it,” Tobias said plainly, and Jake moved to open the inner doors of the airlock.

Rachel made her way quickly to Tobias’s side. “Tobias, what the hell?” she hissed irritably.

He only shrugged. “I really don’t know,” he admitted. “I just have to.”

She watched him closely for a moment, then sighed. “Alright,” she said. “If that’s how it is, then I’ve got you.”

“Thanks.” He pointed to a belt across her chest. “Are those grenades?”

She grinned broadly and poorly mimicked the salute of the Young Pioneers of the Universal Alliance. “Shíkè zhǔnbèizhe,” she teased. When he squinted at her, her smile fell slightly. “What?” she asked.

“I’m trying to figure out the degree to which that’s offensive,” Tobias groused, and she rolled her eyes.

“Hey, I can make fun of the Pioneers,” Rachel insisted. “I _was_ a Pioneer.”

“What? Really?”

“Yeah, back when I lived on Persephone, before the war,” she said. “I never told you?” He shook his head.

“Hey!” Marco called as he stood in front of the opening outer doors of the airlock. “If you two are done reminiscing, someone should really give Tobias a－” He was interrupted, shouting in surprise and horror, as a small harpoon shot through his right leg, then pulled him backward through the doors.

“MARCO!” Jake screamed, running after him, Rachel and Tobias following.

In the darkness of the unidentified ship, there was a slew of gunshots accompanied by short bursts of flashing light. It wasn’t enough to see by, but it was enough to tell which direction Marco was in. Jake ran forward, raising his lantern. “Marco!?” he called.

“Down here,” Marco groaned, and Jake hurried forward. His lantern lit not only Marco, cradling his sparking leg, but the dead man that had fallen in front of him. The dead man with the carved up face.

“Reavers,” Rachel hissed.

Jake turned to them. “Tobias get a floodlight! Rachel, if you don’t have your biggest gun, then get it. Ditch anything that’s only _semi_ -automatic; it’s gonna weigh you down with its uselessness.”

“What, we’re going in?” Rachel demanded. “Against Reavers?”

“This ship has been dead for days,” Jake said, holding the lamp so Marco could get a better look for pulling the spear out of his prosthetic. “The _only_ reason Reavers would still be here is if someone onboard is still alive.”

“Which means we’re about to do something stupid,” Marco groused before slicing through the cable on the spear. He then pulled it the rest of the way through his leg.

“What do you think?” Jake asked, indicating the leg.

“I’ll be limping, but I’ll still be better than Tobias,” Marco said. “I’m with you.”

“I’m _right here_ ,” Tobias countered. He tossed a plastic ball into the ship, which immediately burst into bright white light, illuminating the ship glaringly. The interior was gleaming steel with several green and yellow designs that no one recognized. There were signs in yet another mystery language, seemingly different from the one that had come across the compact device. Jake raised a hand, and Tobias tossed the remote to him. With the press of a few buttons, the ball rolled up to him, then rolled ahead a few feet.

“Okay,” Jake said. “Tobias, you’re supporting Marco, and you’re taking up behind me. Rachel, as soon as they figure out a ship in _good_ condition is docked, they’re gonna head this way, so I need you to stay here and kill the fuck out of them.”

Rachel nodded with a grin and saluted with the tip of her assault rifle. “Whatever you say, Cap.”

“Stop pointing guns at yourself, dumbass,” Jake said fondly.


	3. Chapter 3

Then…  
“Atai wa... Atashi wa anata ga suki to omotta,” Loren sobbed. She was trying not to sob. She really was. The last thing she wanted to be, at that moment, was some sobbing, pathetic loser, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t get it to stop.

“I do,” Alan promised. “I truly do. But you don’t know what’s happening out there.”

“It aincher business,” she said. “These protests and oppositions… We’ve done enough. Neither side’s your people, so sit it out.”

“Loren…”

“Why?” she demanded, tearfully. “Why ain’t I worth stayin’ for?”

“You are,” he promised. “You are, but I… I truly believe that if I stay… I’ll be staying to watch you die. To watch these worlds burn. I have to go. I have to do what little I can to keep that from happening.”

“What do you think you can do?” she demanded. “You’re just one man.”

“Maybe… somewhere in this ‘Verse… I can find a piece of humanity.”

－ －

Now…  
As the rolling floodlight lit the path ahead, Tobias tried his best to keep his eye on the way they’d come. They’d already heard two bursts of gunfire since leaving Rachel, and Tobias didn’t know if they were now out of range of hearing, if only two Reavers had attacked her, or if she was dead. All he could do was pretend that he wasn’t thinking about that third possibility.

Suddenly, Jake stopped. He pulled the remote out of his pocket and set it to a much dimmer light, and Tobias had to blink for a moment to get his sight back. When he did, Jake was frantically motioning for him to get against the wall, and he hurriedly pulled Marco against the wall with him. Marco already had his automatic rifle at the ready, so Tobias raised his pistol. It was in that moment that he realized that he really did not have any idea what he was doing. Not compared to these two.

Marco was watching Jake intently, but Jake had his back to them, easing closer and closer to the upcoming corner at the end of the hall. As they neared, Tobias finally heard what had put Jake on alert. Scratching and growling. Like dogs begging at a door. Tobias swallowed nervously.

Jake rounded the corner silently, his assault rifle held ready to fire. The floodlight did not follow him. After the briefest hesitation, analyzing whatever sight was ahead of him, he moved immediately to the opposite wall at the end of the hall, pressing his back against the wall while pointing his gun at the floor.

Marco pushed Tobias to signal for Tobias to let him go. He groped his way along the wall until he got to the corner. He raised his rifle and turned in toward the next hall. A second later, he nodded to Jake that he was ready. Jake turned to Tobias, raising an eyebrow and tilting his head to ask if Tobias was ready for action. Tobias nodded, an obvious lie.

Jake turned the flood light off. Tobias heard it roll forward a short distance as the scrabbling, snarling sounds continued. Then, suddenly, it flashed on at it’s brightest setting, causing the scratching people to screech in surprise. Jake had already advanced inside, and he pulled the trigger, assailing _someone_ with a burst bullets. By the time Tobias had run to the end of the hall, Marco and Jake had already shot down the second, remaining Reaver.

Tobias swallowed nervously and glanced back down the hallway to make sure no additional Reavers were coming up on them after hearing the noise, but, of course, he couldn’t see back that way anymore.

Reading him, Jake sent the floodlight back down the hall. “See anything?” he called.

Tobias shook his head. “N-no,” he mumbled, swallowing again.

“You okay?” Jake asked, and Tobias nodded. The floodlight rolled back up to Jake and Marco, lowering its light again to a more medium level. “Alright,” said Jake. “Come on.”

Tobias moved forward and slung his arm around Marco’s waist again, pulling him tight against him. Jake moved forward to a sealed door at the end of the short hall. The ship certainly had a strange layout. On every ship Tobias had ever flown, there were always at least two routes to any part of the ship, if not three or four. Even on _Jian Seng_ , you could pull up onto the small observation platform from below, and then walk onto bridge from the _front_ of the ship. But on this craft, every hall was a branch off the main one, ending in a single destination which only ever had two doors, and they still hadn’t attempted to ascend a deck. The layout was skeletal and claustrophobic, and Tobias wondered who the hell would design a ship this way.

The door had been slashed at by knives. Reavers rarely used guns for some reason. Ruined the fun, maybe. There was blood smeared all over it, as well as something else. Tobias wasn’t sure from what source, and he didn’t want to know.

Jake pressed the door lock, but it flashed red and refused to open. He glanced back at them, then knocked on the door. “Hello?” he called. “We, uh, we came to answer the distress beacon. We shot those Reavers dead. You can open the door now.”

For a full minute, nothing happened. Jake was starting to turn away to head back down the hall when the doors hissed open. He spun and raised his rifle.

A young man, about their ages, stood there, staring at them. He was shorter than Jake but taller than Marco, a bit gawky (sort of reminded Tobias of a baby deer), with golden brown hair in tight curls (sort of like Cassie’s mom’s hair) and skin of a medium ocher. His eyes were bright, jewel-like green. He wore a very basic pair of jeans, a well-worn t-shirt, and no shoes. His clothes were splattered in blood.

“You alright?” asked Jake, looking the guy over.

“I… I am fine,” he said, still eying the group suspiciously.

“I’ll say,” Marco muttered, and Tobias sank his fingers into Marco’s waist in reprimand.

“Are there any other survivors?” Tobias asked, and the young man shook his head, never once taking his eyes off of them.

“I’m Captain Berenson of the Hanover-class salvager _Jian Seng_ ,” Jake introduced himself. “This is my pilot, Tobias Matsumoto. And this is Companion Marco Guerra, who flies with us.” In the distance, they heard the faint sounds of gunfire. “And _that_ would be my cousin, Rachel Berenson,” Jake said without missing a beat.

“I… I am… Alex,” the young man said slowly, as though he was having trouble remembering the words. “Alex… Fangor.”

Marco raised an eyebrow and turned to Jake. Both then turned to Tobias.

Carefully, Tobias released Marco and stepped forward, pulling the compact out of his pocket and presenting it to Alex. “Do you know what this is?” he asked.

Alex took it carefully, almost reverently. He opened it and ran his fingers over the surface of the screens. “This belonged to my brother, didn’t it?” he asked. He looked up at Tobias hopefully. Relieved, in fact. “My brother sent you?”

Tobias grimaced and turned to Jake. “Not exactly,” Jake admitted.

－ －

Then…  
“Hi!”

Alan spun, gun drawn, but there was no one else with him in that dark backstreet of Capital City. No one but him and an advertising screen displaying a kissing couple from a romantic comedy. Maybe he was losing his mind. Years of paranoia and espionage with no one to tell his secrets to would do that. Probably.

He turned to continue on, when the voice said again, “Oh, come on, I know you heard me!”

He spun again. Again, he was alone. “Where are you?” he demanded. The screen flickered, and he looked at it again to see that the advertisement had been replaced with a black screen featuring simple white letters, which warned the reader “HUMANITY IS WATCHING.”

Alan scowled. “Am I supposed to be talking to this screen?” he asked.

“Talk however you like,” the screen replied. The display blinked again, replacing the former words with “HUMANITY IS LISTENING.”

“Clever,” Alan drawled. “What do you want?”

“You,” the voice replied cheerily.

Alan stepped back on instinct, glancing around again. “What do you mean?”

“Humanity needs you, Alan Fangor, and you know it, don’t you? That’s what you’ve been trying to do, isn’t it? Help humanity? You have the knowledge, but you don’t have the means to distribute it. After all this time, you still can’t even guess where the starting point is.”

BUT HUMANITY CAN TELL YOU

Alan shook his head and began to walk away again. “You’re a con artist,” he complained. “You don’t know anything about me.”

“I know your son’s name is Tobias Matsumoto, and his mother thinks you don’t know.”

Alan froze. Slowly, he turned back to the advertising screen, which displayed a new message.

HUMANITY CAN HELP

－ －

Now…  
Cassie rubbed her eyes with her sleeve as _Jian Seng_ landed a short distance away from Shuttle Two, which she had been sat just outside of. When the outer doors of the airlock opened, she stood and made her way to her friends.

“So, I hear King tased you,” Jake greeted her cheerfully.

“He’s right,” she admitted. “I’d’ve gone back for you. But, while I appreciate the effort to prevent me from making a mistake, I did inform him that any secondary violation of my will in any form would result in my boys taking turns shooting him full of lead. Then my bestie would probably set him on fire.”

Jake laughed loudly. “That’s my girl,” he cheered her.

Cassie rubbed her arm uneasily. “I am glad though,” she said. “That you got his message. It was long enough, I thought maybe you’d faced the Reavers after all.”

Jake blushed brightly. “I, uh… We sort of… did,” he admitted.

“ _What?!_ ” Cassie screamed for all of Whitefall and probably parts of Athens to hear.

Jake stepped back away from her nervously. “Tobias was with us, so we didn’t get the message!” he insisted quickly. “It was only a few Reavers, and we knew someone was in there, so we－”

“Jacob Berenson, you are a goddamn fool,” Cassie scolded. She pulled him down into a kiss. “Don’t ever change.”

He grinned against her lips. “I’ll make a note,” he promised, wrapping his arms around her waist.

“So you found someone, then?” she asked.

“Yeah, I was gonna introduce you,” Rachel said behind them, and they turned toward her and Alex, who was standing by shyly with a fresh outfit that Rachel had given him (including shoes). “But y’all looked busy.”

“Glad to see you’re alright,” Cassie said, looking over Alex. “I’m Cassandra Sosanya. I’m the ship’s mechanic.”

Alex nodded. “Alex Fangor,” he informed her, and Cassie immediately went stiff in Jake’s arms.

Jake glanced down at her curiously. “Cassie?” he asked.

“Jake… I… Did you tell him about…?”

Jake nodded. “He knows that Alan’s been shot, is not well off, and is comatose. He agrees with our decision not to take him to a hospital.

Cassie nodded, bowing her head. She sniffed and wiped her nose with her sleeve. Jake and Rachel exchanged confused glances, and Jake moved to her side. “Cassie?” he asked again. He reached out to rub her back gently. “What’s goin’ on?”

“I, um…” Her voice broke, and she drew a shuddering breath, still not looking up. “I’m sorry, Alex, but he… A few minutes ago… His heart failed. We weren’t able to resuscitate him.”

For a moment, all Alex did was stare at her. Then, suddenly, he collapsed. Rachel grappled at him in alarm, but merely ended up being pulled down with him. Cassie hurried to his side, gushing sentiments to try to reassure him at a time in which he very clearly couldn’t.

Jake looked out toward the shuttle, where Erek was standing outside, watching grimly. Somehow, despite the facts of the situation, he couldn’t help feeling at fault.

－ －

Back on course to Aberdeen, Jake was sitting at the kitchen table with Rachel, Cassie, and Alex. “So, I guess the issue now is where we need to take him?” Jake asked Alex.

Alex finally looked up from his hands. “Take… Alan?” he asked, confused.

Jake nodded. “For burial,” he clarified.

“Burial?”

“Do you have, like, a family plot or somethin’?” Cassie asked.

“I… I don’t understand what that means,” Alex said slowly.

Jake rubbed his face wearily. He tried again. “What does your family do when someone dies?” he asked. “We want to do the proper thing by Alan himself.”

Alex just stared at him quizzically. “They’re ejected into space,” he said.

“Like _trash_?!” Rachel demanded, and Cassie pulled her roughly back into her seat with a warning glare.

“Captain,” Tobias said, entering from the bridge. “Chapman’s finally gotten back to us.” He held out a panel for him.

Jake groaned and rubbed his face again. “Great. Perfect timing.” He took the panel from Tobias and swiped its surface to activate it.

The bright face of a pale girl with white-blonde hair and grey eyes smiled back at him. Behind her was a plain blue wall, revealing nothing about her location. “You’re Captain Berenson?” she asked, and Jake nodded. “You said the plan with your brother went awry?”

Jake nodded again. “Yeah, um, two Alliance officers followed him onboard, undercover,” he told her. “There was a skirmish later, and he was shot, they were killed. The damage to him was bad, and he lost consciousness. We were trying to contact you about where to take him, since I doubt you wanted him taken to a Federal hospital, but… well… I’m afraid he died earlier today.”

Melissa’s friendly expression dropped into a disappointed one. “Oh,” she said. “I’m so sorry I wasn’t able to connect in time. Would you mind taking him to his next of kin?”

“Well, actually－” Jake started.

“If you’re still on course, it won’t be far out of your way. She lives over on Broadside,” said Melissa.

“‘She’?” Alex repeated, leading forward toward the screen, looking more confused than ever.

“Yes, Loren Matsumoto,” said Melissa. “She lives about thirty miles out from the Sosanyas’ ranch. I’ll send you her coordinates and contact information. Thanks again.” The screen blinked off.

Slowly, one by one, Jake, Rachel, and Cassie looked at Tobias. Curious, Alex followed their gazes. Tobias, however, was still staring at the panel, stunned.

Finally, he said, “Nani?”


End file.
